UVic-UCC celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary while focusing on the consolidation and expansion of its university project

The twenty-fifth anniversary of the Parliament of Catalonia's unanimous approval the Law recognizing the University of Vic by the 112 members of the Chamber falls on 21 May. The historic session which took place in 1997 led to the re-establishment of the university that the city had lost in 1717 with the New Plant decree enacted by the Spanish king Philip V. A quarter of a century later, today's University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) is celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of its founding with a programme of activities that began this April and will continue until October.

A press conference to publicise the anniversary and present the schedule of celebratory events took place this morning at the Casa de Convalescència in Vic, and was attended by Anna Erra, president of the Balmes University Foundation; Josep Eladi Baños, rector of UVic-UCC; and Anna Sabata, general secretary of UVic-UCC, as well as various leading figures at the institution. The press conference also took stock of this first quarter of a century and highlighted the major challenges facing the institution in the future.

"This is an anniversary that marks a milestone, and which goes beyond the restoration of the university in our city. This has to be the beginning of a path with no end and which makes constant progress," said Anna Erra, who said that the university "has grown with a great deal of impetus and strength, not only in the field of teaching but also as regards research and knowledge transfer, and aims to be a key player on the landscape of Catalan universities." The rector Josep Eladi Baños said that "UVic-UCC is reaching its twenty-fifth anniversary at a very good time, after an exponential increase in the number of students and in research, and when the future is pointing towards a similar trend of expansion."

UVic-UCC's twenty-fifth anniversary celebrations will involve around thirty events and exhibitions that will take place in the coming months, which are aimed at recognising everyone who has been a part of the university over the last quarter of a century. The main events include the exhibition entitled "UVic-UCC, 25 years. People, knowledge and territory" which will be inaugurated at the Palau Robert in Barcelona on 2 May; the institutional academic ceremony that will take place in the Aula Magna on 20 May; the visual and poetic performance that will take place in Atlàntida building on 20 May, and the round table discussion of ex-rectors and former vice-rectors of Research on 10 May.

Impetus to become stronger

The official recognition of the university, which was the tenth to be created in Catalonia, marked the consolidation of the project of the Jaume Balmes University School of Teachers in Vic, which was established in 1977 (45 years ago). The project grew during the 1980s and 1990s with the establishment of various university schools and faculties: the Osona University School of Nursing (1981) - which had its roots in the Osona Women's School of Technical Health Auxiliaries (1974), the Osona University School of Business Studies (1987), the Osona Polytechnic University School (1989) and the Faculty of Translation and Interpretation (1993), with the companies Eumo Editorial (1979) and Eumogràfic (1984).

"Becoming the University of Vic provided the impetus for the institution to become stronger and take on a new dimension, and to go on to occupy a place on the Catalan university landscape", said Baños, who reviewed the history of UVic - UCC. The president of the Balmes University Foundation thanked "everyone who worked to obtain the recognition of the university from the outset for their efforts and hard work, including the first rector Ricard Torrents, Enric López and Jaume Puntí, among others, as well as the deputies and mayors who made it possible for us to be able to celebrate these 25 years today."

By the turn of the twenty-first century, the university had several affiliated centres: the BAU School of Design, the EADA Business School, and the ESERP Business and Law School. However, the real turning point was the federation that was established in 2014 between the Balmes University Foundation - the institution that owned the University of Vic - and the Bages University Foundation - the institution that owned the university studies taking place in Manresa.

This would be followed by the creation of the new facility in Granollers (2016) and the creation and federation with the Foundation for Advanced Health Sciences Studies (2017), which led to the establishment of the Faculty of Medicine. This centre has been a turning point in the university's recognition and prestige, as according to the rector of the UVic-UCC "there are people who make a distinction between universities with a Faculty of Medicine and universities without a Faculty of Medicine." The federation with the Elisava University School Private Foundation (2020) is among the most significant milestones in our recent history, which have reinforced the university's federation model.

Our own distinctive and growing model

The UVic-UCC does not have its own legal personality, and has its own governance model, through the Board of Trustees of the Balmes University Foundation. With a clear commitment to public service, this university has strong roots in its region and close links with the network of businesses and economic, cultural and social institutions in the surrounding area. Anna Erra emphasised that the unique model of UVic-UCC, for which it has become a benchmark, has very positive aspects, since "it gives us a great deal of flexibility and a different way of doing things, which is more in keeping with international universities."

The president of the Balmes University Foundation referred to the idea of a territorial university and the commitment made in 2014 with the federation with the Bages University Foundation, with the aim of "joining forces to multiply the university's strength." With regard to the link that was established between Vic and Manresa, she added: "two regions that always had their backs to each other succeeded in establishing a project for the region and the university." As mayor of Vic, Erra talked about UVic-UCC's territorial ambition to broaden the perspective of inner Catalonia "and to expand new university campuses to provide opportunities for many, many young people." From the municipal point of view, she referred to the creation of the city campus that has gone hand in hand with the growth of the university, as "it has transformed Vic in the cultural, social and economic spheres and has expanded its neighbourhoods."

Surpassing the threshold of 10,000 official student

The twenty-fifth anniversary of UVic-UCC comes at a time of major growth and recognition in the university sphere, as can be seen in the figures for the 2021-2022 academic year. The university is commemorating its first quarter of a century in the year in which it passed the threshold of 10,000 students enrolled on official programmes (10,821) for the first time, and in which new entrance registrations increased by 16% (3,789 more students) compared to the previous year. By comparison, the figures for the 2015-2016 academic year show that the number of students was 6,500, meaning that "there has been an increase of 30-40% of students in just five years, in parallel with the growth at the centres on the Vic and Manresa campuses," said the rector Josep Eladi Baños. Likewise, the number of teaching and research staff at the university was 947 in the 2015-2016 academic year and now stands at 1,200, which is an increase of 30%.

In these last five years, the results of the research done at UVic-UCC have increased from around 200 indexed publications to the current figure of 470 - figures that represent growth of 100% "and which highlight the major efforts that have taken place in research in all areas of the university." They have also led to very good positions in rankings such as the THE World University Ranking, according to the rector.

A look towards the future

The consolidation and expansion of the project was among the main challenges for the future of UVic-UCC that Baños highlighted. "It is a complex model, with not much of a tradition, which leads to additional work to bring together all its constituent institutions, especially as it grows," pointed out the rector. One of the new milestones that are visible on the horizon is the inauguration of the FUB-4 Education building in Manresa, in a few weeks, which is "evidence of the vitality of our campuses," according to the rector. Elisava's move to a new facility in the next few years will mean the University will have a stable campus in the Catalan capital for the first time. "The Barcelona campus will help us to have an international profile," said the rector, recalling that one of the cornerstones of UVic-UCC is "having our feet in the territory but our eyes on Europe and the world."

Among the goals for the future, the rector also referred to the 2+3 Project, which is designed to recognise high level training cycles as higher education "at the same level as university degrees, but with their own distinctive features." "Our aim is for the university to become a factor for cohesion in the territory, from the point of view of teaching, research and knowledge transfer." Among other challenges, according to Baños, there is a need to expand the studies in the field of health and in the field of Social Sciences, "with new bachelor's degrees that meet emerging social needs," to restore student numbers on the master's degree courses and to foster the cross-sectoral approach of the teaching community "so that there is increased collaboration between teaching staff in the various faculties."

Celebrations with events for everyone

UVic-UCC wants to take advantage of its twenty-fifth anniversary to honour everyone who has been a part of the institution's history in one way or another, and contributed to its growth. On this subject, the UVic-UCC secretary general Anna Sabata explained that the motto chosen for this celebration - "People, knowledge and territory" - which was created in a joint and broad-based way - aims to highlight the importance of these three facets for the institution. The programme of events was produced with the intention of opening up the celebration to the city, but "we also wanted the 25 years to be accessible for everyone in the university community," said Sabata, who then outlined the major activities on the schedule

One of the first events will be a round table between former and present students of the university, which will take place at 5.30 pm on Friday 29 April, in four faculties: the Faculty of Business and Communication Studies (FEC), the Faculty of Science Technology and Engineering (FCTE), the Faculty of Education, Translation and Sports and Psychology (FETEP) and the Faculty of Health Sciences and Welfare (FCSB). Each of these round tables will take place at a different venue - the Aula Magna, Segimon Serrallonga, Building F (floor 1) and Sala Mercè Torrents - and will be followed immediately afterwards by an event for former students in the Torre dels Frares courtyard.

The Catalan Minister for Universities and Research Gemma Geis will open the exhibition entitled "UVic-UCC, 25 years. People, knowledge and territory", which will focus on the character of the UVic-UCC and its main features, on Monday 2 May. Based on various informative panels and photographs, the exhibition is organised into seven different areas: teaching, research, international, community, federations and territory, Eumo, and a historical overview. The opening of the exhibition, at 1 pm, will feature a presentation by the journalist Antoni Bassas entitled "There's fog in Oxford too."

Another of the scheduled events is a round table discussion featuring former rectors (from 10 to 11.30 am) and former vice-rectors of Research (from 12 to 1.30 pm) of UVic-UCC, which will take place in the Sala Segimon Serrallonga on Tuesday 10 May. The debates will be chaired by the current rector, Josep Eladi Baños and the vice-rector for research Jordi Collet respectively.

The high point of the celebrations of the twenty-fifth anniversary of UVic-UCC comes on 20 May, the anniversary of the date the Law for the Recognition of the University of Vic was passed. At 12:00, an institutional event will take place in the Aula Magna, featuring a lecture by Dr Javier Paricio of the University of Zaragoza, entitled "Rethinking degrees? Higher education and the challenge of a complex and changing society." There will be a poetic, musical and visual performance on the same day, at the Atlàntida de Vic at 7 pm, taking a look at the past, present and future of the institution

The final event marking the twenty-fifth anniversary to take place this academic year will be the ceremony for the investiture of Óscar Camps Gausach, founder of the NGO Proactiva Open Arms, as a doctor honoris causa. The ceremony will take place in the Aula Magna of the UVic at 12 pm on 29 June.

The programme of events to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary will include other activities and exhibitions lasting until October 2022, when the anniversary will conclude as the new 2022-2023 academic year begins.

Access the UVic-UCC 25 years website via this link